15 Weeks Pregnant

Your are beginning to feel more like yourself during the second trimester at 15 weeks pregnant, but are looking different as your baby grows and your body changes.

MOM

Women vary on weight gain. If you started exercising, you may be gaining some muscle and that will weigh more than fat. When determining a healthy pregnancy weight, variables include the amount of muscle a woman has. Your weight gain may be between 5-10 lbs at 15 weeks pregnant.

There is more blood in your body now because your baby needs more oxygen as it is growing. Your heart will need to work 20 per cent harder to pump this extra blood around your body. Some women find that they may forget things, have trouble concentrating and become clumsier.

Your uterus has grown past your hipbones. Your health care provider will be able to measure your uterus. The top of the uterus is a few inches under your belly button. The number of weeks pregnant that you are will usually be about how many cm from the top of your pubic bone to the top of your uterus. This is known as the fundal height.

Feeling like you have to swallow more often? It is because there is probably an increase in salivation. The mucus membranes will also increase in activity, which can cause a stuffy or runny nose throughout your pregnancy. All this will pass after the baby is born.

BABY

Next time you look at an orange, it will give you and idea of the size of your baby at 15 weeks pregnant. Your baby has grown and may be about 4 ½ inches and is over an ounce in weight.

The blood vessels are very visible due to the transparency of your baby’s skin, giving a map like appearance. The fine hair that will cover the baby until a few weeks before birth, the lanugo, begins to be produced. The bones are beginning to get hard and will continue to do so until birth.

Your baby spends a lot of time practicing breathing so that it will be ready for that first breath of air. Tiny taste buds are being developed. Eyebrows and eyelashes are forming with the hair on your baby’s head. If your baby has an inherited or genetic tendency for dark hair, then the pigment is now forming in their hair follicles. Though his or her eyelids are still sealed shut, the baby can distinguish light and dark.

LIFE

With your body working hard to develop a new person for the world, you may find your immune system a little weaker. Wash your hands regularly when in public and keep your body built up with proper nutrition, supplements, and rest.
You may be more susceptible to urinary tract infections (UTI) during your pregnancy. Signs of a UTI include:
•    Pain or burning when urinating
•    Lower abdominal pain
•    Frequent urge to urinate though little comes out
•    Blood in the urine or cloudy urine
•    Nausea or fever.
To help prevent a UTI during pregnancy, drink at least 10 8-ounce glasses of water ever day, peeing as soon as you feel the urge and wiping yourself from front to back. Drink cranberry juice to help discourage bacteria from forming in the urinary tract.
Just because your energy is returning, it doesn’t mean that there is a green light to over do it. Use common sense and balance activities with rest.

16 Weeks Pregnant

14 Weeks Pregnant

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